It is the monthly Designer Crafts Blog connection and our theme this month is Weddings! The winner of the Cricut Treasure Hunt will also be announced on Julie McGuffee's blog!

For this DC blog hop I created a wedding favor inspired by the classic Wedgwood blue and white although my blue is not a traditional blue. The wedding favor tradition began centuries ago when English aristocrats gave out small gifts to guests to take home from the wedding. These gifts signified good luck which the happy couple passed on to their guests and often it was five pieces of candy or almonds which represented fertility, health, wealth, happiness and longevity. The wedding favor these days can be almost anything from candy gift boxes to tiny plants.

The wedding favors that guests appreciate the most are the ones which are a personal expression of the couple, representing who they are and something they have created together for their guests. In considering this I have created a wedding favor which is handmade from some of my favorite materials to work with, is "green" which is also an important consideration to many young couples. 

The wedding favor I designed is made from National Nonwovens Xotic Bamboo felt. I used Ocean Breeze and Pina Colada. The stuffing used is Fairfields Natur-fil.

These could hang from the chairs with the doves reversed to face each other every pair of chairs.



The felt hearts are cut with Fiscars scallop scissors. The Pina Colada (white) felt heart is cut a 1/4" larger all the way around than the blue. The bird was fused to the felt heart front. A straight stitch is used to embroider the bird's tail feathers. Hot fix pearl studs embellish the tail feathers and create an eye. The hearts are placed together and straight stitched all around the edge, leave small opening and stuff, finish stitching heart shut.

The roses are made with 1/3 " by 4" long strips of felt cut with the scallop scissors, rolled and glued. A hot fix pearl stud is glued in center. Some ribbons tied and layered finish off the favor.

A paper message with the names of the happy couple would finish the favor perfectly! Enjoy the DC connection Blog Hop of forty talented designers! Debra, CEO!

Finally we are back! It is Fowl Friday with Fran & Freda! In honor of Friday and Fowl we want to share one of our favorite things, Food! Kate is coming home soon, she is in pastry school and has been tempting us with delicious photos of what  she has been baking. Debra's idea of baking these days is a potato and a chicken breast plus roasted veggies! Yuck!

So we have our feathers and toes crossed that Kate makes us some yummy stuff when she comes to visit! The apple banana dessert with creme anglaise she made earlier this week is at the top of our list! Freda is dancing for joy literally burning off calories in anticipation of Kate's arrival! Follow the Fowl, Fran & Freda!

Sock Monkeys have become even more popular in the last couple years. All kinds of silly sock creatures have popped up! I had a cute pair of striped baby socks and decided to make a baby sock monkey for a gift for a friend. I always make the face first as it helps decide on the rest of the character. (I have a small drawer of heads that did not make it any further perhaps someday they will become some sort of creature!)

I thought this wee guy had a please take me home expression. The fun thing about making sock characters and using child or baby socks is you can get wonderful fun patterns and need to only do some hand sewing to create a cute playmate! Happy National Craft Month! Debra, CEO!

It is a gray rainy Monday but on the plus side the snow is going down especially the snow banks which are very high and hard to see over. The icicles along the roof line have all plummetted to the ground in shattering crystal splendor!

A new week, a fresh start is always invigorating. I am putting together some workshops I will be teaching in April. More on that later. The Designer Crafts Connection is off to a great start with people enjoying the hopping and the treasure hunt! Winner will be announced on the 13th.We plan to have a special hop once a month and I will post schedule in what is new from the studio this week. Our next hop is this month on the 13th, wedding party favors as the season of brides approaches. With two daughters and of course myself there is bound to be a wedding sometime so I am looking forward to creating for the upcoming DC Connection!

One of my favorite crafting techniques is needle felting. For the February issue of Crafts n' Things I created a purse from a felted thrift store wool turtleneck. Who knew someday shrinking a wol sweater would be a good thing! I needle felted a flower design on the front and handle adding hot fix crystals. Just laying the wool in wavy lines with a loop here and there then needle felting it in place. Leaves are half a heart shape and the roses just a spiral of wool. Full instructions can be found in the February issue which is available in digital as well as print form of Crafts n' Things. Happy Crafting during National Craft Month! Debra, CEO!

photo courtesy of Crafts n' Things

What a day! What a month! Today is the official launch of the Designer Crafts Connection monthly blog hop plus it is National Craft Month! Forty designers have joined together to bring the latest exciting and inspiring projects and trends in the industry! Plus a fun treasure hunt and give-aways all at the click of the magic button next to this post hop your way along!

Our first post is about trends we observed from the international CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) trade show held the end of January in Los Angeles. I was unable to attend but this time but the other members of the group have great photos and comments on what they saw. From hopping around myself and reading posts the show was full of girlie, layered pretty stuff, dress maker forms everywhere, florals, mixed media so much happening perfect to chase the winter blues away!

Now for the treasure hunt! So easy! To enter to win the Cricut Expression, hop around the ring to identify the blogs who have featured the Cricut logo. Comment your "finds" on Julie McGuffee's blog! Our next DC Connection hop will be on the 13th "Wedding Favors!" along with another great giveaway! Happy Hopping & Happy Crafting! Debra, CEO!

Today marks the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day! I am so very grateful in my life to know amazing remarkable creative women who make a real difference each and every day.

This afternoon I am attending an event to celebrate the anniversary where women are joining together in enriching, informative discussions and workshops. The event is hosted by our local Women in Business.

I think the famous passage form Marianne Williamson's book is appropriate on this day!  

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Happy 100th International Women's Day!!! Shine today and light the world! Debra, CEO!

Fowl Friday is a little late this week! Not pointing any feathers but Debra apparently was busy with some other more important project neglecting us! Imagine neglecting Fran & Freda.

To add further insult we have been upstaged again with the current issue of Crafts 'n Things magazine and Debra's birds are featured. Not us but a trio of pasty pastel chicks sporing polka dots. We could pull off polka dots but no do we get a chance so our feathers are ruffled. Freda is in a slump and has taken to the nest with a wine spritzer and the latest issue of Roosters Illustrated! Not a good sign! Follow the Fowl, Fran & Freda!

photo courtesy of Crafts 'n Things

I am blessed to have two wonderful daughters who are both creative in many ways. A craft corner was always part of the house and there they colored, painted, cut and played with clay. The fridge held masterpieces of the day.

Later we scrapbooked together. Kate always had a fascination with scissors (many a Barbie has very little hair) and the decorative scissors were her favorite tool. In her first scrapbook family and pets sport scalloped faces and deckled outfits.

Neither was really interested in sewing but Kate took up knitting. I still see her and my Mom heads close together as she helped Kate. My Mom knit the most beautiful sweaters for all of us. My oldest Amanda paints vibrant colorful abstracts and conjures up fun costumes for her annual creative adventure to Burning Man. She always loved dressing up and the big dress up trunk she had when she was young always found her in some sort of creative combination. I remember how she came running in one day like she was flying with a plastic shopping bag converted into butterfly wings.

Kate is now at pastry school and has just completed her first special occasion cake. She chose an unconventional occasion and with helpful tips from her sister the nurse came up with Good Luck on Your Heart Surgery! She received a very good mark. So I am blessed to have wonderful happy talented daughters and I never know how they will express their creativity but I do know it will always be interesting! Follow the Joy! Debra

I am an eternal optimist! I realize that not when things are going well but when they are not and I still believe everything is for a reason, that there is always a light ahead. So I feel slightly guilty at this time thinking will winter, ice and snow ever end.

However it may be snowy and blowy outside but in my studio I can make it any season I want so I have declared it is spring! I have submerged myself in bright colors and flowers, believing in the power of positive thinking I am creating fabric flower gardens and twittering birds. I am also loving playing with fabric transfer sheets and Zentangle!

We may not be able to change or control a lot of what goes on around us but we can change our thoughts, our feelings and brighten our world or someone else easily. So today bring spring, sunshine and a smile to someone, for every day we are here we can make a difference! Follow the JOY! Debra, CEO!

Been a full week! Yesterday I had the opportunity to take a drawing and watercolor class taught by a good friend artist Carole Forbes.

I learned a lot, met some wonderful people and immersed myself into drawing and using watercolor pencils, which I had never used before. I loved it!

What I noticed from people who had never taken a class before was their delight as the day went on in what emerged on the page. There is an artist in everyone.

Lives were changed, talents and interests realized, connections made. It was a rewarding creative experience for which I am very grateful!

Live your creative life! Debra, CEO!